Movie Review - Eight Below

If you are a dog lover, you owe it to yourself to watch this one!

You get to see the amazing huskies in their full glory in the frozen lands of antarctic.
Its not about the story but about the dogs :P

One does wonder on watching such movies where animals have a prominent part as to how the director manages to make them act! Quite mind-boggling!

The movie shows how a group of huskies who have been left behind, manage to survive on their own in the worsening weather in antarctic.

I would give this one 3.5/5

Greatest Prank Call?

LOL, this is a darn funny prank call alright :D
You'll start getting ideas after watching this ;)

Time Lapse video - LA to NYC

Came across this really cool video today!! Havn't seen anything like it ever!!
Its a time-lapse video or in layman's words a fast forwarded video of a car drive done in a convertible from LA to NYC.
Makes you want to go buy a convertible and head out on the highway, NOW!!!
But on second thoughts, just thinking of a similar video done on Indian highways, say Delhi to Mumbai, don't seem to match up anywhere near this :(

Movie Review - Chak De India

When I walked into watch this movie, I was hoping that this would turn out to be a good one. The plot seemed fresh for a bollywood flick anyway.
Released around the independence day (1 week prior actually) to cash in on the patriotic feelings in the air, the movie seemed to be a sure shot hit.

15 minutes into the movie and I realized that this was not a run of the mill bollywood film. Jingoism was curtailed, no long monologues or lecturing by SRK the coach, no song and dance routines, no love story even!!

The story is about a disgraced former India Hockey team captain Kabir Khan. He returns 7 years later to become the coach of the Women's Hockey team and guiding them to victory in the world championship, thereby reclaiming his honour. In between we see how he goes about uniting a bunch of individuals into a formidable team.

Somehow I couldn't help but think back about the Chappel regime in Indian cricket team and how similar situations must have cropped up. Once the cricket team watches this movie, they would be able to relate to it.

Good performances by everyone and SRK was rather understated in his acting, certainly not over-the-top as in so many of his movies. I would say one of his better performances this.

Other actors in the film were all newcomers and there performances were truly commendable. Especially the haryanavi girl's (can't recollect the name) dialogues were too good, giving comic relief in between.

There hasn't really been any sports centered movie since Lagaan and this one does leave some impressions after you have left the movie hall. Not since RDB have I come across a bollywood flick (or hollywood one for that matter!) that I would want to watch again on big screen. This is another one.

Go watch it and you will not be disappointed. My rating is 4.5/5

Oh Oval !

Over the last few days, watching the last test match on TV, I couldn't help but marvel at the magnificence of The Oval cricket stadium.

A most beautiful amalgam of tradition and modernity it is. On the one end you have the imposing Vauxhall stands reminding of the rich history associated with this ground. And on the other end, there is an ultra modern looking crescent shaped stand. What a contrast and it just looks awesome!!

The ground is not completely cordoned and is rather open from 2 sides which makes this ground different from most other stadiums around the world. Must say that this ground left me mesmerized, even just by watching over TV!!

Triumph on English soil

Terrific win for India on foreign shores, again!! After a hard earned test series win in West Indies last year, this win goes a long way in furthering India's resurgence in test cricket especially while playing abroad.

The heartening aspect of this particular series has been the way India played as a "team" and not a bunch of individual performers as they have been over much of our history.

Only hundred for us came from the willow of Kumble, of all people!! How shocking is that!!

Zaheer Khan led as the strike bowler and was suitably chosen as Player of the Series from Indian side. His 18 wickets were truly instrumental in securing the series.

One sore point was the way India played in the 2nd innings. It wasnt a performance becoming of a side that had had the upper hand over the last 3 days. Imagine the mighty aussies in the same situation as we were and you can visualize the mayhem they would have unleashed on the second string english bowling.

And yes, it was the young and inexperienced english attack that also contributed to the Indian cause. But hey, I am not complaining :D

Bravo India!! A nice present on the eve of 60th Independence day :)

Apache RTR 160 vs Pulsar 200

Theres a new kid on the block, the Apache RTR 160 ! (looks really hot in Yellow)
Tastefully done I must say, it oozes style alright.
Power specs are decent, with 15bhp available on tap. More than outright performance (compared to Pulsar 180/200), its the attention to details that wins you over. Take for example the racing stripe down the middle, red strip around alloys (in the pic above), petal disc brakes in front, brushed aluminium rear foot peg, split grab rail, and body colored engine fairing. Handlebars are also sporty and adjustable.

Another cool bike on show for some time has been the Pulsar 200. I really like what they did with the pulsar, making it more sporty and stylish. If I had to buy a bike right now, these are the ones I would shortlist. Pulsar 220 is fast, but looks bland and Karizma is an old wine in a new bottle right now.
Its a more powerful bike compared to the RTR, with 18 horses.
3 bhp might seem too little a difference, but let me tell you, it will leave the RTR gasping for breath. The one above in black looks a scorcher. Red is also a hot color. If you want to play cool, theres blue as well ;-)
Its an oil-cooled bike unlike the regular air-cooled ones, dont really know how much of a difference it makes! Split seats, split grab rail, sporty riding position, lower stance compared to other pulsars, exposed drive-chain all make it quite a beauty!!

So which one to pick then?

On performance alone, it has to be Pulsar 200. However in terms of looks the RTR takes the cake.

I would pick the 200 of course, and leave the RTRs behind in my rear view mirror :P

India vs England - Test Series

India vs England / 2nd Test of 3 / Trentbridge (27-31 July07)

What an incredible win for us! Labeled as poor travelers for long, but this decade has seen some memorable wins abroad by Team India.

So much so, that I would rate it as a better test side than ODI one presently.

Having miraculously survived the first test, it was a pleasant shock to see us dominating the 2nd test for the entire stretch.

Winning the toss helped of course. And the bowlers did the job, as they have done often in helpful conditions overseas. It has always been the failure of batters on the lively pitches that has resulted in the poor off-shore record.

Not this time. The newly forged partnership of Karthik-Jaffer came through with a gutsy and steady opening stand of 147 runs. That laid the foundation.
However I still don't agree with the make shift arrangement of having a non-specialist opener. Even though Sehwag and now Karthik in the brief stint have done very well.


The middle order built upon it, helped by the increasingly batsmen-friendly pitch now.
Ganguly and Sachin thrived but were very unlucky to be given out wrongly. Both could have easily got a 100 to their names, especially Sachin who went for 91.

Indians made sure of a big lead of 283. No 100s though, which was very unusual for an Indian innings of this magnitude.

With 2 days left in the match, India were clear favorites for the win. Only doubt was whether they could get the 10 wickets on a now flat track.

They needed the bowlers to win this now. And in stepped Zaheer. Great bowling from him as he took 5-75 to rip the top-order of England. Only Vaughan with a fine ton shone from the british side.

But the ball of the match was bowled by RP Singh. He clean bowled Matt Prior with a beaut of a delivery, coming round the wicket and a huge inswinger uprooting the middle stick of Prior beating him hands down. Akram couldn't have done it better!

We only needed 73 to secure the win in the last innings and a 7 wicket win was the final outcome.

A great chance then for a famous series win in England. Lets see!